[Federal Register Volume 68, Number 191 (Thursday, October 2, 2003)]
[Notices]
[Pages 56843-56844]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 03-24999]


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DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention

[30Day-79-03]


Proposed Data Collections Submitted for Public Comment and 
Recommendations

    The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) publishes a 
list of information collection requests under review by the Office of 
Management and Budget (OMB) in compliance with the Paperwork Reduction 
Act (44 U.S.C. Chapter 35). To request a copy of these requests, call 
the CDC Reports Clearance Officer at (404) 498-1210. Send written 
comments to NCHS/CDC, Desk Officer, Human Resources and Housing Branch, 
New Executive Office Building, Room 10235, Washington, DC 20503 or by 
fax to (202) 395-7245. Written comments should be received within 30 
days of this notice.
    Proposed Project: NCHS 2003-2004 National Ambulatory Medical Care 
Survey (NAMCS) (OMB Control No. 0920-0234)--Extension--National Center 
for Health Statics (NCHS), Centers for Disease Control and Prevention 
(CDC). The National Ambulatory Medical Care Survey (NAMCS) was 
conducted annually from 1973 to 1981, again in 1985, and resumed as an 
annual survey in 1989. It is directed by the Division of Health Care 
Statistics, National Center for Health Statistics, CDC. The purpose of 
NAMCS is to meet the needs and demands for statistical information 
about the provision of ambulatory medical care services in the United 
States. Ambulatory services are rendered in a wide variety of settings, 
including physicians' offices and hospital outpatient and emergency 
departments. The NAMCS target population consists of all office visits 
within the United States made by ambulatory patients to non-Federal 
office-based physicians (excluding those in the specialties of 
anesthesiology, radiology, and pathology) who are engaged in direct 
patient care. Since more than 80 percent of all direct ambulatory 
medical care visits occur in physicians' offices, the NAMCS provides 
data on the majority of ambulatory medical care services. To complement 
these data, in 1992 NCHS initiated the National Hospital Ambulatory 
Medical Care Survey (NHAMCS, OMB No. 0920-0278) to provide data 
concerning patient visits to hospital outpatient and emergency 
departments. The NAMCS, together with the NHAMCS constitute the 
ambulatory component of the National Health Care Survey (NHCS), and 
will provide coverage of more than 90 percent of ambulatory medical 
care.

[[Page 56844]]

    The NAMCS provides a range of baseline data on the characteristics 
of the users and providers of ambulatory medical care. Data collected 
include the patients' demographic characteristics and reason(s) for 
visit, and the physicians' diagnosis(es) and diagnostic services, 
medications and disposition. These data, together with trend data, may 
be used to monitor the effects of change in the health care system, 
provide new insights into ambulatory medical care, and stimulate 
further research on the use, organization, and delivery of ambulatory 
care.
    Users of NAMCS data include, but are not limited to, congressional 
and other federal government agencies such as NIH and FDA, state and 
local governments, medical schools, schools of public health, colleges 
and universities, private businesses, nonprofit foundations and 
corporations, professional associations, as well as individual 
practitioners, researchers, administrators and health planners. Uses 
vary from the inclusion of a few selected statistics in a large 
research effort, to an in-depth analysis of the entire NAMCS data set 
covering several years. The annual burden for this data collection is 
6,175 burden hours.

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                                                                                     Number of
                              Form                                   Number of     responses per     Hours per
                                                                    respondents     respondent       response
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Induction--eligible.............................................           2,250               1           35/60
Induction--ineligible...........................................             750               1            5/60
Patient Record..................................................           2,250              30            4/60
Nonresponse Studies.............................................             300               1           60/60
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    Dated: September 26, 2003.
Nancy E. Cheal,
Acting Associate Director for Policy, Planning and Evaluation, Centers 
for Disease Control and Prevention.
[FR Doc. 03-24999 Filed 10-1-03; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4163-18-P